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While the Leprechaun Pirate King leads our merry band of singing pirates, we all hold Granuaile the Pirate Queen of Ireland in the highest regard and reverence. What is more daring or more bold than a woman that leads her clan on the high seas? Family and fortune go hand in hand, especially among the Irish clans. Anne Chambers wrote the book on the Pirate Queen

For centuries the life of the iconic 16th century warrior leader by land and sea, Grainne Ni Mhaille (Grace O’Malley) or Granuaile, as she is more familiarly known in Ireland, was abandoned to the vagaries of myth, fiction and folklore (which nonetheless prevented her memory from total obliteration)…

Legends are not created about insignificant people. To be remembered in folk memory is as much a tribute and validation of her status as any academic treatise.

As to the factual evidence relating to Granuaile it was left to the English administrators and generals, who had come to conquer her country, to write her into historical record. And this is where I found her… From the swirls and flourishes of these sixteenth-century relics the story of Granuaile springs to life.

When a woman goes a pirating there is no going back. Grace O’Malley led her clan, and others, for decades and became a legend. She fought along side her men, and according to the timeline, in 1597 “At the ’great age’ of 67, Grace is recorded still actively leading her men by sea in a retaliatory attack on MacNeil of Barra off the Scottish coast.”

Irish Pirate Queen or Leprechaun Pirate Princess

It does make me wonder what my own true royal status is in the Leprechaun Pirates. My brother is The Leprechaun Pirate King, so I am at least a Leprechaun Pirate Princess. Perhaps we will explore this in song in the coming weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on September 24 & 25 featuring Shamrocks & Shenanigans. It should be a great grand weekend with plenty of fun for those who enjoy Irish in their entertainment.

Pirating has gone to the dogs…and whatever other animal you can convince to wear a pirate costume. But this isn’t where the real Sea Dogs came from, you can thank Queen Elizabeth I for those.

Pirate Lore of the Sea Dogs

Once again we visit the Free Encyclopedia which offers up this true tale of pirates of the Caribbean:

The Sea Dogs were a group of sea-raiders authorized by Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Sea Dogs were also known as Elizabethan Pirates.[1]

The Sea Dogs were essentially a military branch that were authorized by the Queen to attack the Spanish fleet and loot their ships in order to bring back riches and treasure. The Sea Dogs were able to do this because they carried “Letters of Marque“[2] which made their plundering of Spanish ships legal despite the countries not officially being at war with one another… By having a small fleet of ships that would sail around and pick off Spanish ships, risking their lives and own ships in the process, they were able to reduce the funds and size of the Spanish navy significantly. The Sea Dogs continued carrying out raids against the Spanish until 1604 when England and Spain made peace. After that, many of the Sea Dogs left England to continue pillaging off either the Barbary Coast or in the Caribbean.

Navy Lore of the Sea Dogs

But those weren’t the last Sea Dogs. In fact, the U.S. Navy is known for having dogs on board to build morale of the crew. Many ships had their mascots. It’s a tradition that has been maintained in the Coast Guard and Marines also. Dogs of all kinds have been kept and puppies have been born on board as well. My cold pirate heart was warmed with this tale about a dog that was adopted by the Coast Guard back in 1944:

“‘Smokey,’ the only living creature Coast Guardsman found aboard a tanker that burned following a collision with a sister ship off the Florida coast several months ago, has been promoted by her guardians, crew members of a Coast Guard fire boat at Port Everglades, Fla., to “Bones’ Mates, Second Class”, and issued an official identification card giving her occupation as “expert eater”. The card is signed with Smokey’s “X” (crossed bones) and is paw-printed. Eighty-eight lives were lost in the collision of the two tankers and ensuing fire,” 1944

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Just a tip for you scurvy dogs, from the Dread Pirate Morgaine herself: a pirate wench loves wine, chocolate and romance. So leave your rum and whisky behind when you are wooin’; unless of course, she tells you otherwise. ‘Tis true that wenches mean what they say and say what they mean when they say it! It’s also best to take a bath or two before you see your favorite pirate wench, or she might stick you with the pointy end of her favorite dagger.

From Pirate Wench to Pirate’s Bride

From time to time a pirate wench may decide to marry. This confuses the pirate, especially when he thinks he can leave her behind. Just as what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, so what’s good for the pirate is also good for the bride.

Pirate’s Bride

Goodbye my love, goodbye my love, my bark is on the bay,
And I must gain Isle Hydra before the break of day,
Then weep not though I go off to peril o’er the main,
My blood-red flag ere over long shall meet thy gaze again.
One kiss – one kiss – goodbye…..
~ Words Traditional

If you must leave, please be sure to return with wine and chocolate. You’ll have to take the wine from the French and the chocolate from the Spanish, so if you want to make a pirate wench happy you’ll need as much luck as a Leprechaun Pirate can muster!

As a special note, Morgaine prefers red wine and dark chocolate, neither should be too sweet or too bitter. All pirate wenches have their own preferences, so please ask before you present them with wine, chocolate, or romance. So bring your favorite Pirate Wench and join us this weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, September 10 & 11, for Wine, Chocolate & Romance.

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The pirates be seeking new Adventures this weekend, Arrrgh Begorah! The sweet trade calls to us in stories and songs, the sound of the rushing wind and the sight of land upon the horizon promise a full belly and a full treasure chest. Land Ho! It be time to go to shore and trade some songs for pieces of eight. It’s what every Leprechaun Pirate dreams of, sweet fine dreams of gold and jewels.

Sing a Song Arrrgh Begorah

I left my chores, my house and home
In search of treasure on the sea
No digging dirt out on the farm,
my spirit wanted to sail free.
Yo Ho and a bottle of Rum…
~ from “A Pirates Lullaby” by Beth Hansen-Buth

Being a musician on a pirate ship is an essential job, so is keeping up the morale of the crew between prizes. It can also be a bit of a chore, as any crew member can request a tune, and even roust the musician out of bed. So in some ways we are the hardest working members of a pirate ship. Still, it’s a job that needs doing, and it’s better than swabbing the deck. We can also pick up a little honest money when we go to shore at the local tavern or even street corner. Everyone loves a good tune and adventure on the high seas.

The Leprechaun Pirates will again be going on shore leave, this time for three full days of fun and frolic and pirates are especially welcome at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on September 3, 4 & 5 • Passport to Adventure! So put on your favorite pirate gear and join us for a weekend of fun and feasting.

Gather your crew for your next adventure by spreading the word, just click on a gold doubloon below Arrrgh Begorah!

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As pirates, we do love our kittens. Having a cat or three on board helps keep the rats out of the apple barrel, so to speak. They are also lucky to have in your homes, but beware of one falling overboard! The Leprechaun Pirates often practice with their patron cat, named Kit, a beautiful and adventurous black boy who adopted our drummer a while back.

Kitten Superstition on the High Seas

As our own Dread Pirate Morgaine can attest, having cats on board a Pirate Ship is sure to bring good luck. She has sailed the information seas to find this entry in Wiki

Cats were believed to have miraculous powers that could protect ships from dangerous weather. Sometimes, fishermen’s wives would keep black cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea. It was believed to be lucky if a cat approached a sailor on deck, but unlucky if it only came halfway, and then retreated.

Another popular belief was that cats could start storms through magic stored in their tails. If a ship’s cat fell or was thrown overboard, it was thought that it would summon a terrible storm to sink the ship and that if the ship was able to survive, it would be cursed with nine years of bad luck. Other beliefs included: if a cat licked its fur against the grain, it meant a hailstorm was coming; if it sneezed it meant rain; and if it was frisky it meant wind.

British and Irish sailors considered adopting a black “ship’s cat” because it would bring good luck.Cats eat rodents, which can damage ropes and stores of grain on board, and they are intelligent animals, so a high level of care was directed toward them to keep them happy. A ship’s cat would also create a sense of home and security to sailors who could be away from home for a long time.

What’s In Your Sporran?

We Leprechaun Pirates have an assortment of other cats as well. Five official cats in all add to the luck they bring us on each journey. Clearly we need to write a song about our lucky cats. While we don’t normally keep them in our sporran, we recommend that everyone coming to the Highland Fling this weekend bring their sporran and fill it up with goodies to bring home. And while pirates as a rule don’t wear kilts, you can wear yours and join in the kilt competition. We are continuing our quest to lift the curse that turned us into Leprechauns, so please come and share what ever luck you have with us. We would love to hear your tales of and cat or kitten superstition you ascribe to as well.

Feel free to share our lore about pirates and kitten superstition on the high seas by clicking on a gold doubloon below.

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We leave the high seas behind to join with those of like mind this weekend near the shire of Shakopee. It is our quest to find friends and lift the curse that continues to haunt our days as Leprechaun Pirates. We did not know when we stepped out our front doors seeking adventure what awaited us. Truly, the tales of adventure lured us away from our safe homes into the unknown, as oft has been told.

“He often used to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river:
its springs were at every doorstep and every path was its tributary.
‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,’ he used to say.
‘You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.'”
– Frodo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring, Three Is Company ~ by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Songs Begin

We will sing songs and make merry, and ask for help in lifting this curse from all who come to us. Because we are pirates, we will be seeking prizes from stage to stage and between as well. Leprechauns have huge appetites for food, fun and mischief. This business is back breaking work, the Dread Pirate Ogsnart can attest, as he’s been fitted with a back brace and is currently on shore leave. If you’ve never heard the tale of our curse, this is how it began:

“I was a pirate brave and bold, standing six foot four
I grinned a mighty pirate grin for the gold that was in store.
I overheard a crewman say, a pirate brave and tipsy,
‘Boys we’ve hit a little snag it’s guarded by a gypsy’

Join the Quest

We welcome you to come join us on our quest at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival this weekend August 20th and 21st 2016 because the theme is Silk Road: Discover the Riches. There will even be a Pirate Hat making activity in the special events field, for all of you who want to join our quest, or even start your own.

And because riches shared are the easiest to discover, click on one of our gold doubloons below to share this with your friends.

Coming soon to a Pagan Festival near you!

The Leprechaun Pirates will be performing Saturday evening August 6th

About the Festival:
Sacred Harvest Festival has welcomed well over a thousand unique individuals who have made our tribe flourish. Pagans and nature worshipers and their children and elders come together once again for a week of joy, fellowship, and learning. We drum and dance into the night, create enriching rituals, and bask in our famous tribal community. This year we are free to bring our visions of the future, and bury the bones of the past. Our ancestors are watching and helping us!

On a more personal note, me and my hubby the Cabin Boy are very happy to be going back to Sacred Harvest Festival this year. Last year, I played my ukulele in our tent during the rain to rave reviews. This encouraged me to keep up my ukulele practice a bit more. We both fell in love with SHF, and the new location at Atchingtan. Good fortune smiled, the Leprechaun Gods be praised, and we are thrilled to be going back. I will perform with my fellow Leprechaun Pirates on the stage on Saturday night August 6th.

We plan on going up early, to partake of some of the best of Sacred Harvest Festival. There is nothing like falling asleep to drumming around a campfire. If you’ve never done it, now is the time! Check out their web page for all the other fabulous guests, other events, camping information, registration options and more! You can also connect with others on the official Facebook Event. So come and join the fun! We’ll see you at the festival.